Advocate works to raise awareness of spit tobacco dangers
11/9/2004 Michael Flynn Ashville Citizen-Times Paul Turner directs the North Carolina Spit Tobacco Education Program, which seeks to reduce the rate of spit tobacco use among the state's middle and high school students and to make sure people are aware that smokeless tobacco is not harmless. Nationally, spit tobacco use among high school boys is 10.8 percent, but North Carolina`s rate is 17.6 percent and in Western North Carolina the rate is more than 35 percent. The N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund has awarded the program $304,500 grant, which is administered by the Haywood County Health Department. Before joining the program, Turner retired after a lengthy career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including serving as Deputy Director of the Division of Oral Health. Turner has also served as director of Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program. Question: What are the health risks of using spit tobacco? Answer: The risks include nicotine addiction and dependence, periodontal disease, tooth loss, increased heart rate and high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, decreased stamina and endurance, delayed wound healing and gastric problems such as stomach problems and ulcers. In some cases spit tobacco use can result in oral cancer and death. Spit tobacco use is certainly not a safe alternative to smoking. Q: Why are the use rates higher in WNC than the rest of the state and country? A: It is part of our heritage. We are basically a rural environment with a lot of wide-open [...]